Did Maverick’s Force the WSL to Pony Up an Estimated $1.4 Million for Pay Equality?

During the meeting between representatives from CEWS including Brennan, Karen Tynan (CEWS’ attorney), Bianca Valenti, and Paige Alms, and WSLCEO Sophie Goldschmidt, Graham Stapelberg, WSL attorney Dylan Budd, Women’s CT commissioner Jessi Miley-Dyer, BWT commissioner Mike Parsons, and others, executives of the World Surf League were emphatic that prize parity would not be feasible at Maverick’s this year. “When we got to the hardest part of the discussion, which was about equal pay, they just completely shut down,” Brennan said in a phone interview. “They said things like, ‘We don’t negotiate with outside groups. ’ And, ‘If we did this at Maverick’s then there’d be the expectation that we’d do it across all categories. ’ And we were like, ‘That’s exactly what we want…’ Then they were like, ‘Absolutely not. There’s no money.

Controversy surrounding Maverick’s, however, suggests that until the very end the League resisted ponying up the estimated $1. 4 million required to achieve pay equality. “I’ll get right to it,” Sophie Goldschmidt, the WSL’s newly-minted CEO, began in a Wednesday press conference two days before the inaugural Surf Ranch Pro was set to begin in Lemoore, California. “We’ve been working hard for a long time to deliver a very thoughtful strategy that covers various facets of the sport.